Two weeks ago, the City Council asked the Norwich Community Development Corp. to prove its worth before the council would agree to pay the agency $350,000 over the next five years.

Today, the scrutiny will continue when aldermen revisit the resolution authorizing those payments and receive a presentation from agency executives on NCDC’s activities.

“We have a long-standing track record of building assets and bringing value to the community, and today we’re trying to take care of the businesses that are here while looking for new ones,” NCDC President Bob Mills said.

The council voted 4-3 on May 6 to delay the financial agreement with NCDC as city leaders scour a proposed $116.5 million 2013-14 budget, looking for savings in a spending plan that could raise taxes by more than 5 percent.

To date, aldermen haven’t made any cuts, and those who voted to table the NCDC deal say they’re not opposed to funding the agency, but want a clear accounting of where the money will go.

“For me, it’s about results,” Alderman Mark Bettencourt said. “They’re not for lack of trying, but I don’t think we’ve gotten great results.”

If the council doesn’t act before the end of the current fiscal year on June 30, a five-year agreement between the city and NCDC that provides it with $50,000 annually over that time will lapse.

Alderman Charlie Jaskiewicz, a Democrat who is running for mayor, said he wants to see “measurable outcomes and objectives” to justify NCDC ’s request.

A resolution to extend the annual funding agreement with NCDC through 2018 says the $50,000 per year would aid the organization’s “core work of economic development services to provide the city with full-time, professional assistance.”

The measure was introduced by Republican Mayor Peter Nystrom and Democrat Peter Desaulniers, the council’s president pro tempore.

Both men are on NCDC’s board of directors, as is City Manager Alan Bergren.

“We’re the clearinghouse for a city that doesn’t have one. The city manager and part-time mayor’s office is overloaded, so it just makes sense to have a professional staff that fields incoming calls and produces marketing,” Mills said.

During a May 13 public hearing on the budget, NCDC proponents stepped forward to praise the organization for its behind-the-scenes work that helped stabilize existing businesses and paved the way for new ones to enter the city.

Maria Miranda, creative director and founder of the marketing and design firm Miranda Creative on West Town Street, said Mills and NCDC were crucial in her effort to secure a state economic development grant that allowed her business to pursue national accounts and hire more people.

“This funding would not have happened without NCDC,” Miranda said. “I knew it would be impossible for me to run my business and pursue this funding. I asked NCDC for help and they said, ‘yes.’ ”

Page 2 of 2 - Bettencourt said he believes NCDC provides a service to the city, but needs to see a “scope of work” from it before agreeing to continued funding.

“I’m willing to sponsor some things to help move them along if they can come up with things they actually need,” he said.